Californians buying guns at record rate

Dec. 5, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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At Ade's Gun Shop & Em & M Guns in Orange where business is booming, Emily Atkinson shows her favorite model pistol, a Springfield Armory XD compact. She owns the shop with her father. JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Ana Subias listens as Emily Atkinson makes recommendations on choosing a pistol at Ade's Gun Shop & Em & M Guns in Orange. She is considering a gun for home security. JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Cash is counted and paperwork done as a Sig Sauer 1911 pistol is purchased at Ade's Gun Shop & Em &M Guns in Orange. In an industry-wide trend, sales are up and the family-owned business can't keep many models on the shelf. JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

At Ade's Gun Shop & Em & M Guns in Orange, 75 percent of the firearms sold are handguns. JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Salesman Kevin McCluskey demonstrates the pistol-shooting stance for a customer at Ade's Gun Shop & Em & M Guns in Orange. He is holding a Sig Sauer 1911 .45-caliber pistol. In an industry-wide trend, sales are up and the family-owned business can't keep many models on the shelf. JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Although 75 percent of the firearms sold at Ade's Gun Shop & Em & M Guns in Orange are handguns, it also has a large inventory of rifles and shotguns. JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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At Ade's Gun Shop & Em & M Guns in Orange where business is booming, Emily Atkinson shows a California-legal 5.56 mm rifle. She owns the shop with her father. JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

At Ade's Gun Shop & Em & M Guns in Orange where business is booming, Emily Atkinson shows her favorite model pistol, a Springfield Armory XD compact. She owns the shop with her father.JEBB HARRIS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Californians are buying more guns than ever.

Those who keep the statistics don't speculate on why the numbers are spiking, but to enthusiasts on the ground, it's clear. Times are tough, and the future is uncertain, leaving people looking for an extra layer of security, said gun sellers and experts in the field. November's election brought heightened fears of impending regulation, spurring some buyers to bite the bullet and make purchases they might otherwise have put off.

As of November, the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System had run 981,798 background checks related to guns in California, beating out totals for previous years before 2012 is even over. The numbers jumped about 8 percent from last year, part of a steady increase since 2008.

At the state Department of Justice, officials said they expect sales to easily outpace last year's, part of several years of steady increases in their counts of dealers' records of sale. That would put this year on track to surpass an all-time high set in 1993 – the year after the Los Angeles riots.

It's not uncommon for current events to affect sales.

This year, dealers reported more customers after the election and numbers grew in the shopping frenzy of Black Friday. Nationally, the FBI's background check system received its highest number of transactions since the system went into place in 1998, said Steve Fischer of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services.

"Generally, Black Friday has been one of our busiest days," he said.

This year, however, the system broke records, with 154,873 calls on Nov. 23, up about 20 percent from Black Friday last year. With the high volume of calls, officials shut down call centers briefly to allow the system to catch up, Fischer said.

Among California gun buyers, the spike was even more pronounced.

Michelle Gregory of the state's Department of Justice reported a 59 percent increase in submitted dealer's records of sale on Black Friday from last year. A dealer's record of sale is filed with the state for each transaction, which may include one handgun as well as multiple long guns. Buyers must generally wait 30 days before buying another handgun.

Overall, November records showed a 49 percent increase from last year, Gregory said.

Reasons for increase

For those watching trends in gun ownership and regulation, the numbers shift with social movements.

"I think it's a direct outgrowth of the strategies employed in the recent election," said John Eastman, a professor and former dean of the Chapman University School of Law who in 2010 sought the Republican nomination for state attorney general.

Eastman pointed to the discord brought by groups like Occupy Wall Street, which in some cases clashed with police. The breakdown in public order inspired more people to think about self-defense, he said.

Across all levels of government, officials have made moves to regulate gun ownership, he added. While the most restrictive regulations would likely be overturned by courts under the Second Amendment's right to bear arms, Eastman said a risk of control was enough to encourage prospective gun owners to buy while they can.

Outside of political strife, economic uncertainty has also inspired people to look for more protection, he said. Violent crimes have steadily declined in recent years, according to FBI statistics, but Eastman said concerns remain that those in desperate financial straits could be a threat to safety. With talk among politicians about cutting social benefits, financial hardships could become worse for many, creating an even more volatile situation, he said. Concerns are also high about preparedness in case of disasters, such as Hurricane Sandy.

"It's like a perfect storm," he said.

Supporters of gun control laws also expected the recent spikes in gun ownership. Charlie Blek, president of the Orange County chapter of advocacy group the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said the recent shift of convicted felons from state prison to local jails under realignment might have had an impact on gun sales. The election definitely had an effect.

"The National Rifle Association has done a wonderful job of demonizing President Obama," he said.

In fact, Blek said, Obama's gun policies have either been nonexistent or a step backward in the eyes of safety advocates. Closer to home, California has done an excellent job screening gun owners, he said. The safeguards aren't trying to keep qualified buyers from purchasing guns, he added.

"As long as they understand and appreciate the risk, they certainly have the right."

All walks of life

At Ade's Gun Shop, Emily Atkinson and father Mike Hein, who run the business as Em & M Guns, typically see more customers in the winter, with Christmas shopping and hunting season.

"We've been seeing bigger crowds than normal probably for three months," said Atkinson, whose daughter also works in the shop.

At the cozy Orange location, they see customers from all walks of life: families, teachers, small-business owners and elderly women as well as serious hobbyists. Their customers are most likely to take their guns to a shooting range for target practice, or perhaps keep them on hand for self-defense, Atkinson said.

With the re-election of Obama, she sees the passage of stricter gun laws as only a matter of time.

"There is a big scare that guns are going to begin to get scarce," she said.

Sales have been up since the 2008 election, said Steve Converse, who has worked at the business for about four years.

"That's when we saw a lot of people buy their first guns," Steve Converse said. "Now they're coming back to expand their collection."

With the bad economy, election and more awareness of disasters, he said there's a climate of uncertainty. People who might not have thought much about gun ownership before are starting to seriously consider it, he said.

"A lot of people are just recently learning about what the Constitution says and the rights that we have and starting to exercise them now."

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